Luna L E
J Ethnopharmacol. 1984 Jul;11(2):135-56. doi: 10.1016/0378-8741(84)90036-9.
In the city of Iquitos and its vicinity there is even today a rich tradition of folk medicine. Practitioners, some of whom qualify as shamans, make an important contribution to the psychosomatic health of the inhabitants of this area. Among them there are those called vegetalistas or plant specialists and who use a series of plants called doctores or plant teachers. It is their belief that if they fulfill certain conditions of isolation and follow a prescribed diet, these plants are able to "teach" them how to diagnose and cure illnesses, how to perform other shamanic tasks, usually through magic melodies or icaros, and how to use medicinal plants. Four shamans were questioned about the nature and identity of these magic plants, what are the dietary prescriptions to be followed, how the transmission of shamanic power takes place, the nature of their helping spirits, and the function of the magic melodies or icaros given to them by the plant teachers.
即使在今天，伊基托斯市及其周边地区仍有着丰富的民间医学传统。从业者中有些人堪称萨满，他们对该地区居民的身心健康做出了重要贡献。其中有被称为植物学家或植物专家的人，他们使用一系列被称为“医生”或植物老师的植物。他们相信，如果满足一定的隔离条件并遵循规定的饮食，这些植物就能“教导”他们如何诊断和治疗疾病、如何执行其他萨满任务（通常通过神奇的旋律或伊卡罗咒语）以及如何使用药用植物。四位萨满被问及这些神奇植物的性质和身份、需要遵循的饮食规定、萨满力量是如何传承的、他们的帮助神灵的性质以及植物老师赋予他们的神奇旋律或伊卡罗咒语的作用。
